It is unsurprising that an elderly man who doesn’t believe in wearing a mask or taking safety precautions during a global pandemic has tested positive for a highly contagious pathogenic viral infection. What makes it newsworthy is that the person is the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. And Trump isn’t alone in testing positive for COVID-19: from White House aide Nick Luna to right-wing loudmouth Chris Christie, Republicans are receiving coronavirus tests like they’re NRA kickbacks.
But what about the Democrats? What has their reaction been? Well, for the ones highest up the political ladder, it has been the expected “Wishing the President well” and “We’re all Americans, we’re all in this together”. Barack Obama tweeted, “Michelle and I hope that the President, First Lady, and all those affected by the coronavirus around the country are getting the care they need and are on the path to a speedy recovery.” This is exactly the kind of thing you’d expect from a decent former President like Obama, who in style alone is about as far removed from Donald Trump as it’s possible to get.
Twitter has stated that anyone tweeting about wanting Donald Trump to die will be temporarily suspended, which makes you wonder why they don’t bring that same energy when women and trans people are threatened on their platform every day. I don’t wish death on President Trump, but I’m certainly not going to wish him well during this time and here’s why: he has brought this on himself and is at least partly responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans.
President Trump disbanded a NSC pandemic unit, openly fought against closing down the country to reduce the spread of the disease and has held large political events where social distancing and wearing a mask were not required. And on top of all of that, the White House appears to have done little to stop the spread, putting those around Trump in danger. Our sympathy instead should be for all the innocent Americans who are being infected by COVID because America failed to protect its citizens. They do not have the luxury of free private health care or the safety net of millions of dollars that means they can safely hide away if things get worse. Or check themselves into a hospital out of “an abundance of caution” like Chris Christie when average Americans were told to only go to hospital in dire condition to reserve resources.
Donald Trump has no decency; he has shown no humanity or humility. He mocked a disabled reporter while on the campaign trail. He ran campaign ads targeting Hilary Clinton’s health when she was unwell. He has shown time and time again that he only cares about himself. Our time would be better spent trying to undo the harm he has done to America, rather than waste it with empty words to the most dangerous man to ever be elected president. The overarching theme of the Trump presidency has been cruelty; we can only hope American voters make the correct decision and that Biden creates a government built on compassion. Let us not wish harm on Trump, instead let us wish a humiliating defeat this November.